The present invention relates to a technology of an electronic key information system, and more particularly to a technology of an electronic key information system for laying restrictions on utilization by means of electronic key information so as to limit utilization of a certain resource to a specific person.
In recent years, so as to avoid a security decline that originates in duplicating a mechanical key easily, there is a movement of computerizing a key in various fields. Introduction etc. of an immobilizer into a car is a good example. The immobilizer of the car has a mechanism of permitting the car to start, by authenticating key information stored in an IC chip embedded in the key by an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the car. This allows the effect to be obtained for preventing the car from being stolen by means of a physically duplicated key, which occurred on an earlier occasion.
Also, is conventionally known the electronic key information system of, at the moment that a portable key member having individual discernment information (electronic key information) written was lost, executing update, delete, addition, registration, etc. of the discernment information (electronic key information) (for example, JP-P2002-004661A (page 3), which is hereinafter referred to as a patent document 1).
In this technology, for example, each member of a family possesses the portable key member (a radio wave key, a remote control key, a non-contact type card, a contact type key, an IC card key, etc.) having kinds of the discernment information written, each of which differ from the other.
And, in a case where the portable key member that one member of the family possessed was lost, stolen, etc., a maintenance reader provided in a controller is caused to read an arbitrary one of the remaining portable key members. The discernment information (electronic key information) that the maintenance reader was caused to read is collated with discernment information registered to a memory section of the controller, it is determined that the remaining portable key member is legitimate in case where both kinds of information coincided, and modifications such as the update, the delete, the addition, and the registration are made for the discernment information pre-registered in the storage section.
Nevertheless, a first problem of the conventional electronic key information system employing the key information that the above-mentioned IC chip stored is to produce no effect upon stealing the key itself having the IC chip embedded totally. The reason is that even a user, who is not a legitimate user, can utilize the key because user identification is not required in utilizing the key.
Also, a second problem of the conventional electronic key information system is that it is difficult to insure a security in distributing the key having the IC chip embedded. The reason is that in a case of distributing the key by a request by the legitimate user, a confirmation has to be made as to whether a partner is a legitimate user in delivering the key; however its mechanism was not established.
Further, a third problem of the conventional electronic key information system is that it takes much time and labor to prepare the legitimately-available key that becomes a substitute for the lost key at the time that the key having the IC chip embedded was lost. The reason is that it is practically impossible to duplicate the computerized key even though the actual thing is kept at hand, and even the legitimate user is not able to manufacture a duplicate key with ease, differently from the mechanical key. Also, the reason is that it also takes much time to re-issue the key with a legitimate procedure as compared with a case of the mechanical key.
On the other hand, in the conventional electronic key information system described in the patent document 1, the unique discernment information that the portable key member has individually is assumed to be an object of identification, and in a case where the portable key member was lost, the discernment information that each has was lost together therewith, whereby so as to continue to utilize the thing that is an object of control, it becomes necessary to register the discernment information of a new portable key member to the controller.
Also, in the conventional electronic key information system described in the patent document 1, an identification of the user was not completely made with regard to use of the portable key member, whereby the problem existed that even the portable key member acquired unjustly resulted in being utilized unless its legitimate owner became aware of a loss of the portable key member, and erased the registration to the controller.